It’s incredible to think about how much progress has been made in the LGBTQ+ community over the past three decades. Back in 1993, same-sex marriage was not legally recognized anywhere in the United States. Furthermore, laws criminalizing gay sex were widespread, with sodomy laws aiming to prohibit any oral or anal contact between same-sex partners. During this time, a sex-advice columnist named Dan Savage, known to only a select readership of independent alt-newspapers across the nation, created quite a stir when he revealed that Mattel’s latest Ken doll, a part of the Earring Magic line of Barbie toys, was designed with clear inspiration from gay fashion, albeit unknowingly sporting a cock ring on his neck.
Dan Savage’s Column about “Ken Comes Out”
In his 1993 column, “Ken Comes Out,” Savage breaks down the details of “Earring Magic Ken.” Although this particular doll does not receive his own credit in the recent film Barbie by Greta Gerwig, he does make a quick and playful cameo. The movie, with its satirical and knowing tone, pays homage to some of the more questionable and amusing choices in the history of the Barbie toy line. And it’s clear that Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach are fully aware of the nickname Cock Ring Ken, given to this particular doll since 1993.
Savage describes “Earring Magic Ken” as sporting a sheer and revealing purple mesh shirt, a purple vinyl vest, two-tone hair, a single silver earring, and a gold band around one elbow. Additionally, the doll comes with a pair of shiny plastic earrings for the owner to wear. However, what largely went unnoticed was the “cock ring” hanging around Ken’s neck on a metallic silver thread.
According to Savage, Mattel likely didn’t intend to equip Ken with a cock ring. He suggests that the doll’s designers probably took inspiration from nightclub outfits and attempted to translate that style into a doll design. Savage humorously notes that upon closer inspection, the entire Earring Magic Ken ensemble looks like three-year-old rave wear. He explains that chrome cock ring necklaces, similar to the one on Earring Magic Ken, were popular rave accessories during that era.
Reading Savage’s Column Today
While it’s entertaining to revisit Savage’s column for the sake of understanding the joke in the recent Barbie film, there are more significant reasons to explore his piece titled “Ken Comes Out.” Savage’s witty conversation with a Mattel representative, who clearly believes he is joking, provides plenty of hilarity. However, the column also sheds light on how Earring Magic Ken’s design reflects a shift in mainstream acceptance of queer culture in America during the early ’90s.
Throughout history, Hollywood has demonstrated a pattern of admiring and appropriating from queer culture, while simultaneously marginalizing queer artists and their work. What Savage pinpointed in the early ’90s was a time when queerness began to infiltrate mainstream culture at a rapid pace, leaving the more conservative elements of society struggling to keep up.
Savage notes that the little girls who influenced Mattel’s design choices weren’t necessarily basing their preferences on what their family members wore, unless they happened to have hip and queer relatives. Instead, the girls were influenced by the homoerotic fashion and imagery they saw in music videos on MTV, Madonna’s concerts and films, and the outfits worn by members of ACT UP/Queer Nation during protests and raves. Savage argues that queer imagery had become so ingrained in American culture that mainstream America unwittingly adopted queer fashion and customs without even realizing it.
The Presence of Cock Ring Ken in Barbie
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie does not delve into these complex themes, as it primarily focuses on the humor associated with discontinued dolls. Earring Magic Ken, or Cock Ring Ken as he is referred to by some, simply serves as a quick joke within the larger context of the movie’s countless visual and verbal jabs at the Barbie line. Although it’s difficult to determine from the brief moment he is on screen, it seems that Earring Magic Ken is not wearing his signature necklace. However, this is something to pay closer attention to when clips of the film become available.
Nonetheless, Earring Magic Ken’s appearance in Barbie serves as a reminder of a specific moment in marketing history. It highlights a time when designers, striving to tap into coolness and accepted norms, failed to recognize the sweeping changes occurring within society and how quickly queer voices were becoming part of mainstream culture. While writers other than Dan Savage also noted the “gender bending” aspects of Earring Magic Ken, they did not possess the intimate knowledge of queer culture that Savage did. Ultimately, Cock Ring Ken may not have revolutionized the world, but he was an indication of the rapid transformation taking place during his time.